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Cisco Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Enterprise Routers
Ranking in Routers
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
115
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Routers
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Routers category, the mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Routers is 14.7%, down from 19.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 8.1%, up from 7.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Routers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Enterprise Routers14.7%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch8.1%
Other77.2%
Routers
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad IrfanGhauri - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Solutions at Comtech Associate
Enterprise routing has delivered advanced security integration and supported AI data centers
The licensing part of Cisco Enterprise Routers is a bit tricky nowadays. With DNA, they have introduced DNA licensing. If they make it more simplistic with respect to customer understanding, I think it would be a good selling point for them. The licensing model could be a bit too high or a bit too complex. They need to make it simplified. It would be good for their business. With respect to enterprise routing, I would like to see additional features in the future to make it closer to a ten. Previously, Cisco has integrated many technologies into their router and multiple security features. However, since they have created a separate firewall product line, Firepower, I still want them to integrate more security features into their enterprise-grade router as well. Content filtering, application control, and website filtering are features that should be integrated into the router. They have multiple options, so with respect to technology, I am expecting that they integrate security more and Voice over IP features more easily into the router. For the customer, this makes their life easier in the sense that a single box can give them multiple solutions. I think they are already providing 5G interfaces, and there are options available.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees
Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup
The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We hardly have issues with Cisco equipment and I believe that reliability is the best part of Cisco."
"The solution offers very good networking capabilities, the stability is excellent, the consistency of the configuration has been very good, and the performance of the devices is very reliable."
"The main reason for using Cisco Routers is for the proprietor routing protocol that it has."
"Cisco routers are very reliable."
"They are the most stable, have the highest availability, and are the most reliable on the market."
"Cisco Enterprise Routers are easy to use and the performance is good."
"The product can scale."
"Cisco Enterprise Routers are the best."
"We value the solution's price, and it can do almost anything you need regarding routing, so it's a well-rounded solution for routing, especially for network routing."
"The technical support for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is superb."
"The performance has been good."
"The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio."
"Regarding security and visibility in monitoring, it is very good, the GUI is very intuitive, and it has many more features than those from major vendors."
"It is easy to set up."
"MikroTik is the most stable device; it’s easy to configure, there are no bugs or glitches, it’s reliable, and the performance is good."
"The tool has impacted our company's network costs and productivity in a perfect manner and percentage-wise, I can say it is 120 percent."
 

Cons

"If Cisco can give you one license and allow you to use all the features, that would be the best thing."
"If Cisco can give you one license and allow you to use all the features, that would be the best thing. We are using it only as a voice gateway, and there are other options available, but we need to procure licenses to use those options. We can use it as a security device, or we can use it for connecting the LAN side, but for that, we need all those licenses. They can provide one license and allow you to use all the features. This is my recommendation for Cisco."
"The only other thing we struggled with from time to time is when we were configuring access points through a controller."
"Their support has room for improvement. The regional agents are not that great."
"They take too much time to reboot or restart. Whenever we hard reset them, they take time. Cisco should resolve this issue."
"The security of the solution could be a bit better."
"They are pretty expensive devices."
"The price has room for improvement."
"In medium to large sectors, there's a necessity for managing aspects like proxy firewalls."
"Technical support needs to be faster and more knowledgeable."
"The solution does not yet offer a SaaS version."
"Aspects such as zero trust, security, and management interface could be improved, which would be useful."
"The scalability is good except if you are using version OS 6. However, once you begin to use version OS 7, it only uses some of the processes at a time, and it doesn't thread the things but instead uses them one at a time, which is a hold-back for that product."
"It would be even better with a centralized management platform."
"The bulk efficiencies and the control of traffic could be a bit better."
"Stuff that I'd like to be improved is really just training and documentation because I think the feature set is full. Another improvement I'd suggest is that their new, bigger releases should be a bit more stable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Normally, we pay for the licenses upfront. I think it's mostly just a perpetual, once-off license."
"The licensing cost is quite reasonable."
"We are on a three-year license and since we use the solution in an educational institute it is priced reasonably."
"There are licensing costs and they are expensive."
"The cost of this solution is a little bit high compared to others."
"Cisco routers are very pricey."
"There is a router-only, perpetual license available for this product, but additional features will mean additional charges."
"I like the price of the solution."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"The price is competitive."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business49
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise45
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

How do Cisco Enterprise routers compare with Mikrotik routers and switches?
Cisco Enterprise Routers are very stable and easy to use. They offer a very solid performance and are very secure. They also have a very good, long lifespan. We feel the command configuration is ve...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Enterprise Routers?
Regarding the pricing for Cisco Enterprise Routers, I would say it might be a little bit too high because for large companies, it does not matter since they prefer Cisco, but smaller companies ofte...
What needs improvement with Cisco Enterprise Routers?
Utilizing Cisco's integrated security protocols is the area where I wish to get into in the coming days, but currently, I am not working on the security portfolio.
What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features. It would be beneficial to...
What is your primary use case for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
I mostly work with network equipment now, focusing mainly on routers. I work with FortiGates and MikroTik routers. When referring to FortiGate routers, I mean the firewalls, but not the enterprise-...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MikroTik CRS Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Boingo, Chartwell School, Children's Hospital of Orange County , Department of Justice, Explorer Pipeline, Linz AG, National Rugby League, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Telecom Italia, Transwestern
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Enterprise Routers vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.